4 Philadelphia Phillies who won’t be back after losing NLCS to Diamondbacks

3. Craig Kimbrel, RP

On the whole in the 2023 season, Craig Kimbrel was about as solid as the Phillies could've hoped for out of the bullpen on the back end. He finished the regular season with a 3.26 ERA and 1.04 WHIP, looking like a vintage version of one of the better relievers of the past decade or so.

Unfortunately, things took an exceedingly negative turn for Kimbrel whenever he was called upon in the heart of the NLCS against Arizona.

After winning Games 1 and 2 in Philadelphia, it looked as if the Phillies could possibly put away the Diamondbacks in quick order. That's when they gave Kimbrel the ball for the bottom of the ninth in Game 3 with the score knotted at 1-1. Kimbrel then conceded a walk, allowed a single, got an out on a fielder's choice, gave up another walk, and then gave up the game-winning RBI single to Ketel Marte.

If that wasn't bad enough, though, Kimbrel followed that up in Game 4 with an even worse result. He came in the bottom of the eighth this time with the Phils up 5-3, the veteran righty gave up a two-run home run and an RBI single to concede three runs in the lead, a scoreline that held to even up the series.

Now 35 years old, the clock is likely to strike midnight on Kimbrel with the Phillies as he's set to hit free agency. Despite how valuable he was for much of the regular season, his inconsistency had been a problem in recent years and it reared its head at the worst time for this team. There's likely too bad of a taste in the organization's (and definitely the fan base's) mouth to bring him back.